Somali pirates seize ship carrying Russian tanks

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Reba

Reba

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MOGADISHU, Somalia — A man claiming to be a spokesman for the Somali pirates who seized a ship laden with Russian tanks says they want $20 million to release the vessel....
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Read the rest of the story at:

FOXNews.com - Somali Pirates Demand $20 Million Ransom for Weapons-Laden Ship - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

This could get ugly.

American destroyer USS Howard "was stationed off the coast of Somalia on Sunday to make sure the pirates didn't remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the hijacked ship."
 
We should've never pulled out of Somalia back in the 90's.....
 
Reba said:
Read the rest of the story at:

FOXNews.com - Somali Pirates Demand $20 Million Ransom for Weapons-Laden Ship - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

This could get ugly.

American destroyer USS Howard "was stationed off the coast of Somalia on Sunday to make sure the pirates didn't remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from the hijacked ship."
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Those tanks and ammos are destined for Kenya since the Kenyan government bought them from Russia.

Yes the American warship is staying close to that ship until the Russian warship is coming in. It has displayed a great example of cooperation between two countries.

The piracy off Somali coast has increased significantly lately; therefore , I think it requires attention and a strong action from the international community to deal with the situation. There are several foreign warships in the Somali water in order to protect the 'safe' shipping lane. In this situation, the Ukrainian ship obviously did not use that shipping lane and it went inside the dangerous territory instead. The International Maritime Bureau already warned the shipping and cruise companies to keep away from the Somali water last month.

The IMB's warning about piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

http://www.icc-ccs.org/main/news.php?newsid=117

Map of Pirate Attacks around the world

http://www.icc-ccs.org/extra/display.php?yr=2008
 
I feel for the crew the pirates have them locked up in an overheated room

These guys are nuts they will fight til death.

International waters are indeed dangerous to travel.

Hopefully the ship and crew will be returned safely
 
Babyblue said:
I feel for the crew the pirates have them locked up in an overheated room

These guys are nuts they will fight til death.

International waters are indeed dangerous to travel.

Hopefully the ship and crew will be returned safely
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One crew member died. :(
 
Royale said:
Those tanks and ammos are destined for Kenya since the Kenyan government bought them from Russia.

Yes the American warship is staying close to that ship until the Russian warship is coming in. It has displayed a great example of cooperation between two countries.

The piracy off Somali coast has increased significantly lately; therefore , I think it requires attention and a strong action from the international community to deal with the situation. There are several foreign warships in the Somali water in order to protect the 'safe' shipping lane. In this situation, the Ukrainian ship obviously did not use that shipping lane and it went inside the dangerous territory instead. The International Maritime Bureau already warned the shipping and cruise companies to keep away from the Somali water last month.
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I was kind of surprised that the cargo ship didn't use an armed escort or convoy.
 
Reba said:
I was kind of surprised that the cargo ship didn't use an armed escort or convoy.
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Kenya and Ukraine.... c'mon.... kenya doesn't even have navy. Ukraine probably doesn't care since they're simply a seller. The loss is Kenya's problem.
 
Jiro said:
Kenya and Ukraine.... c'mon.... kenya doesn't even have navy. Ukraine probably doesn't care since they're simply a seller. The loss is Kenya's problem.
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They're usually escorted by the sending country, or the country which provided the cargo, which would be Russia.
 
Byrdie714 said:
I'm suprised that the cargo ship wasn't armed themselves.
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A cargo ship is not designed for combat. That's why they use escort ships.

When I was in the Naval Reserve, for several years I served with a Naval Control of Shipping Unit. We were responsible for planning escort convoys and inspecting the readiness of cargo ships for convoys. I was assigned to the cargo ship boarding party. We also took part in many international convoy exercises, so I know a little bit about them.
 
Reba said:
A cargo ship is not designed for combat. That's why they use escort ships.

When I was in the Naval Reserve, for several years I served with a Naval Control of Shipping Unit. We were responsible for planning escort convoys and inspecting the readiness of cargo ships for convoys. I was assigned to the cargo ship boarding party. We also took part in many international convoy exercises, so I know a little bit about them.
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True, however if they were going into an area known for piracy--wouldn't you want to have a little protection for yourself?
 
Byrdie714 said:
I'm suprised that the cargo ship wasn't armed themselves.
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I think there's a general law that ships, unless military, cannot be armed. So, many ships arm themselves with water cannons.
 
Well at least there is international goodwill in resolving this issue.
 
This isn't the first time that pirates attacked on ships off the coast of Africa :Ohno:
 
Either way, the Somalis will have a hell of a problem unloading those tanks. The US is even contemplating intercepting the ship before it reaches any dock.
 
I saw this concerning the alleged deaths of Somali pirates over possible radiation poisoning, possibly from DU contamination of the tanks/cargo within:
The Times - Pirates die strangely after taking Iranian ship
Sounds like a gun-smuggler's paradise off the coast of Somalia.
Either that, or we need to save the pirates from Iran.
Pre-empt strike now.
Lol
 
Byrdie714 said:
True, however if they were going into an area known for piracy--wouldn't you want to have a little protection for yourself?
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The kinds of weapons, and the size and make up of the crews that are on board commercial cargo ships are limited, especially compared to what the pirates have, and what the military have. They do have "protection" but it's limited. Modern merchant ships require very small crews. Also, a large cargo ship doesn't have much evasive maneuverability.

Did you read about the crew make up? At least one of the crew members was Somali. It's possible that part of this attack was an inside job.

It's very common for the crews of merchant ships to be mixed nationalities. Usually just the master and first mate are the same nationality as the ship's registry (if even that), or each other.
 
SCBassist said:
Either way, the Somalis will have a hell of a problem unloading those tanks. The US is even contemplating intercepting the ship before it reaches any dock.
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I just saw an updated picture of the ship. It appears to be a ro-ro ("roll on, roll off"). That means, they don't need cranes to remove the tanks. They can be driven off. However, it still requires a good size port facility to do that, so an interception is possible.
 
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